# TECX

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TECX
> Source revision: 1357138525
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{{Short description|British television action drama series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox television
| image                =
| image_size           = 
| caption              =
| alt_name             = Tecx
| genre                = [Crime drama](/source/Crime_drama)<br>[Action](/source/action_(narrative))
| creator              = [Ian Kennedy Martin](/source/Ian_Kennedy_Martin)
| developer            = 
| writer               = Various
| director             = {{plainlist|
* [Antonia Bird](/source/Antonia_Bird)
* [Renny Rye](/source/Renny_Rye)
* [Gabrielle Beaumont](/source/Gabrielle_Beaumont)
* [Lawrence Gordon Clark](/source/Lawrence_Gordon_Clark)
* Alan Cooke}}
| creative_director    = 
| presenter            = 
| starring             = {{plainlist|
* [Rob Spendlove](/source/Rob_Spendlove)
* [Urbano Barberini](/source/Urbano_Barberini)
* Ulrike Schwarz
* [Stéphane Audran](/source/St%C3%A9phane_Audran)
* [Jenny Agutter](/source/Jenny_Agutter)}}
| judges               = 
| voices               = 
| narrator             = 
| theme_music_composer =
| open_theme            =
| end_theme             = 
| composer             = [Hal Lindes](/source/Hal_Lindes)
| country              = United Kingdom
| language             = English
| num_series           = 2
| num_episodes         = 13
| executive_producer   = [Ted Childs](/source/Ted_Childs)
| producer             = [Simon Channing Williams](/source/Simon_Channing_Williams)
| editor               = Ollie Huddleston
| location             =
| cinematography       = Michael J. Davis
| camera               = 
| runtime              = 50 minutes
| company              = [Central Independent Television](/source/ITV_Central)
| channel              = [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network))
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1990|03|22|df=y}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1990|08|15|df=y}}
| related              =  
}}

'''''TECX''''' is a British television [crime drama](/source/crime_drama)/[action](/source/action_(narrative)) series created by [Ian Kennedy Martin](/source/Ian_Kennedy_Martin), that aired on [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)) for two series and thirteen episodes between 22 March and 15 August 1990. The series revolved around a [Brussels](/source/Brussels)-based private detective agency called TECX (a play on "tecs," short for detectives).

==Plot==
Tecx dealt with the cases of a group of international detectives who were based in Brussels but roamed all over [Europe](/source/Europe). Their headquarters was Souverain Associates. Kate Milverton ([Jenny Agutter](/source/Jenny_Agutter)) was in charge and much of the action centred around Chris Tierney ([Rob Spendlove](/source/Rob_Spendlove))

This was another of those pan European glossy cop shows that could have been an [ITC](/source/ITC_Entertainment) shows from the sixties like ''[The Champions](/source/The_Champions)'' or ''[Department S](/source/Department_S_(TV_series))''. Tecx has all but been forgotten these days and the show suffered somewhat at the time from a semi disjointed run of episodes with a two month gap from the schedules halfway through.

Lots of good guest stars popped up though including the likes of [John Stride](/source/John_Stride), [Stéphane Audran](/source/St%C3%A9phane_Audran), [John Castle](/source/John_Castle), [Geoffrey Bayldon](/source/Geoffrey_Bayldon), [Keith Barron](/source/Keith_Barron), [Abigail Cruttenden](/source/Abigail_Cruttenden) and a young [Mark Strong](/source/Mark_Strong).<ref name="Memorable TV">{{cite web |title=Tecx (ITV Crime, Jenny Agutter, Rob Spendlove)|url=https://www.memorabletv.com/tv/tecx-itv-crime-jenny-agutter-rob-spendlove/|website=Memorable TV|date=13 August 2020|accessdate=29 April 2026}}</ref>

==Cast==
* [Rob Spendlove](/source/Rob_Spendlove) as Chris Tierney
* [Urbano Barberini](/source/Urbano_Barberini) as Fabio Cavalcanti
* Ulrike Schwarz as Anna Holz
* [Stéphane Audran](/source/St%C3%A9phane_Audran) as Isabelle Souverain
* [Jenny Agutter](/source/Jenny_Agutter) as Kate Milverton

==Episodes==
{{No plot|section|date=December 2025}}

===Series overview===
{{Series overview
| color1     = 3C4DBB
| link1      = #Series 1 (1990)
| episodes1  = 7
| start1     = {{Start date|1990|03|22|df=y}}
| end1       = {{End date|1990|05|03|df=y}}

| color2     = AE1A1D
| link2      = #Series 2 (1990)
| episodes2  = 6
| start2     = {{Start date|1990|07|11|df=y}}
| end2       = {{End date|1990|08|15|df=y}}
}}

===Series 1 (1990)===
{{Episode table |background=#3C4DBB |overall=13 |title=14 |director=19 |writer=19 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 1
 |RTitle = Deep Water
 |DirectedBy = Alan Cooke
 |WrittenBy= Robert Smith
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|03|22|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= Chris and Fabio, two would-be detectives are given their first big case by an influential Parisian lawyer. Hired to protect a disgruntled former employee of a shipping company who is being threatened, Chris and Fabio are joined in their investigation by Anna. They find themselves in a world of lies, frauds and disappearing ships.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Deep Water | date=1990-03-22 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150358507 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 2
 |RTitle = The Wine Business
 |DirectedBy = [Antonia Bird](/source/Antonia_Bird)
 |WrittenBy= Patrick Harbinson
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|03|29|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= TECX overstep the mark. Asked by Kate Milverton, an English lawyer in Isabelle's practice, for some minor background information on a client's case, they dig up more than requested. There's resentment all around especially as Kate seems to be developing more than a business partnership with her wine merchant client, Hugo.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=The Wine Business | date=1990-03-29 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542221 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 3
 |RTitle = The Sea Takes All
 |DirectedBy = Antonia Bird
 |WrittenBy= Michael Baker
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|04|05|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= An unknown client hires the TECX agency to investigate a suspicious toxic waste transporter. Fabio is drawn to a "Green" activist who provides him with information but then disaster strikes.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=The Sea Takes All | date=1990-04-05 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542234 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 4
 |RTitle = A Question of Chemistry
 |DirectedBy = [Renny Rye](/source/Renny_Rye)
 |WrittenBy= Jane Hollowood
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|04|12|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= The TECX agency investigate unfair competition among NATO equipment suppliers. The trail takes them to [Germany](/source/Germany) where Anna's past returns to haunt her.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=A Question of Chemistry | date=1990-04-12 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542248 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 5
 |RTitle = Dead End
 |DirectedBy = Renny Rye
 |WrittenBy= Pete Barwood
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|04|19|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= The detectives of the TECX agency are hired by a powerful Japanese conglomerate to find a "missing person" with whom they have unfinished business. However TECX are not the only ones looking for him.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Dead End | date=1990-04-19 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542261 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 6
 |RTitle = 17k
 |DirectedBy = [Lawrence Gordon Clark](/source/Lawrence_Gordon_Clark)
 |WrittenBy= Robert Hammond
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|04|26|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= TECX investigates the brutal murder of a Chinese shopkeeper in [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam). Isabelle defends the dead man's daughter against a charge of attempted homicide in Brussels. The case drags up disturbing memories from Anna's past.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=17k | date=1990-04-26 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542313 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 7
 |RTitle = Rock a Buy Baby
 |DirectedBy = [Gabrielle Beaumont](/source/Gabrielle_Beaumont)
 |WrittenBy= Barbara Machin
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|05|03|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= A small town politician receives blackmail notes concerning the adoption of his son - someone has discovered how he and his wife secretly bought a baby. With an election approaching, the politician turns to the TECX agency for help.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Rock a Buy Baby | date=1990-05-03 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150542986 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=3C4DBB
}}
}}

===Series 2 (1990)===
{{Episode table |background=#AE1A1D |overall=6 |series=6 |title=14 |director=19 |writer=19 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 8
 |EpisodeNumber2=1
 |RTitle = Needle in a Haystack
 |DirectedBy =Gabrielle Beaumont
 |WrittenBy= Timothy Prager
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|07|11|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary=  A multi-national food company is being blackmailed - someone is trying to poison its fruit. TECX agents are sent to Marseilles to try and catch the culprit.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Needle in a Haystack | date=1990-07-11 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150359013 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 9
 |EpisodeNumber2=2
 |RTitle = Previous Convictions
 |DirectedBy =Alan Cooke
 |WrittenBy= Guy Meredith
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|07|18|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary=  A ghost from Fabio's past causes problems when she turns to him for help.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Previous Convictions | date=1990-07-18 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150376524 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 10
 |EpisodeNumber2=3
 |RTitle = Getting Personal
 |DirectedBy =Antonia Bird
 |WrittenBy= Jack Chaney
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|07|25|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= Anna and Fabio investigate a series of damaging leaks from the nuclear waste committee.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Getting Personal | date=1990-07-25 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150375629 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 11
 |EpisodeNumber2=4
 |RTitle = Fall from Grace
 |DirectedBy =Lawrence Gordon Clark
 |WrittenBy= Robert Smith
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|08|01|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= A high flying Euro MP asks the TECX agency for help when a beautiful young translator starts sending him stolen documents which threaten to compromise his career. Soon it's a murder investigation.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Fall from Grace | date=1990-08-01 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150379230 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 12
 |EpisodeNumber2=5
 |RTitle = Writing on the Wall
 |DirectedBy =Antonia Bird
 |WrittenBy= [Andy de la Tour](/source/Andy_de_la_Tour)
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|08|08|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= The TECX agency are in London trying to have a holiday when a distraught "new-age hippy" asks them to find his stolen van, which is full of chunks of the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title=Writing on the Wall | date=1990-08-08 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150379348 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 13
 |EpisodeNumber2=6
 |RTitle = A Soldier's Death
 |DirectedBy =Renny Rye
 |WrittenBy= Susan Wilkins
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1990|08|15|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary= The TECX team are about to fly home when they learn that Kate's father is ill. His family bank is blackmailed and large sums of money are disappearing. Kate urges him to employ TECX.<ref>{{cite web | website=BFI | title= A Soldier's Death | date=1990-08-15 | url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150370627 | access-date=2026-04-29}}</ref>
 |LineColor=AE1A1D
}}
}}

==Home media==
Notably, the series has neither been repeated since broadcast, nor is available on any form of home media.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0098923|title=TECX}}

Category:1990 British television series debuts
Category:1990 British television series endings
Category:1990s British crime drama television series
Category:British action television series
Category:British detective television series
Category:ITV television dramas
Category:Television series by ITV Studios
Category:Television shows produced by Central Independent Television
Category:Television shows set in Belgium
Category:Television shows set in the Netherlands
Category:Television shows set in the United Kingdom
Category:English-language British television shows

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [TECX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TECX) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TECX?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.